Trump congratulates Rittenhouse on acquittal: ‘If that’s not self defense, nothing is’
The one-term president has spoken out in support of the teenager
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Donald Trump has congratulated Kyle Rittenhouse for his homicide acquittal for shooting and killing two protesters and wounding another.
Mr Rittenhouse, 18, shot the men with an AR-15-style assault rifle on the streets of Kenosha, Wisconsin, on 25 August 2020, but claimed if was in self-defence.
“Congratulations to Kyle Rittenhouse for being found INNOCENT of all charges. It’s called being found NOT GUILTY—And by the way, if that’s not self defense, nothing is!” said the former president in a statement posted on Twitter by his spokesperson Liz Harrington.
Mr Trump visited the city in September 2020 to view the damage done during civil unrest that was sparked by the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
The jury returned its verdict on Friday afternoon after spending four days deliberating on the charges.
Joe Biden called on Americans to “express their views peacefully”, while acknowledging that the outcome of the high-profile case “will leave many Americans feeling angry and concerned, myself included, we must acknowledge that the jury has spoken.”
Mr Rittenhouse, 18, began shaking uncontrollably, before his knees appeared to give way and he collapsed to his seat as he learned he would walk out of court a free man.
Mr Rittenhouse, who was 17 at the time, travelled from his home in Antioch, Illinois, armed with an AR-15-style rifle to Kenosha, Wisconsin on 25 August 2020 amid protests over the police shooting of a Black man, Jacob Blake.
He shot and killed Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber and also shot Gaige Grosskreutz, who survived.
Mr Rittenhouse claimed he acted in self defence after he was attacked by a mob, while the prosecution claimed he had provoked the violence and then used deadly force.
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